Once you've mastered
barbecued chicken in your new Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, you're now
ready to "kick it up a notch" and try
baby back ribs!

This easy method requires only one adjustment to the vent settings at
the beginning of the cooking session. We'll use water in the water pan
to keep the cooker temperature under control. This allows us focus on the
tenderness of the ribs, not the temperature of the cooker.

Important:
This recipe may not turn out well if you do not use Kingsford
Charcoal Briquettes and a Weber Chimney Starter for measuring the
amount of charcoal used.

The amount of charcoal
used in this recipe is overkill, but it ensures that no matter what
the conditions, your WSM won't run
out of fuel before the ribs are cooked. You can experiment with
using less fuel the next time you cook this recipe.

Choose The Smoke Wood

Photo 1

Use four chunks of oak, apple, cherry, or other mild fruit wood. As an alternative, you can use
three
chunks of any of these and one chunk of hickory. I used three chunks
of apple and 1 chunk of hickory for the ribs shown here. Do not use mesquite for this recipe.

Each smoke wood
chunk should be small, for example 3" x 2" x 2" or similar.

Set the sauce mixture
aside for use when the ribs are finished cooking.

Prepare The Ribs

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Remove the ribs from
their packaging and pat dry with paper towels (Photo 3).

If you're feeling
ambitious, read the Pork Loin Back
Rib Preparation article and watch the accompanying video to
learn how to remove the membrane from the bone-side of each slab.
This allows for better eating and better smoke and seasoning
penetration of the meat. If you don't feel comfortable doing this
your first time out, then skip this step.

Brush a thin layer of
yellow hot dog mustard onto both sides of the ribs (Photo 4).
Don't worry, this won't make your ribs taste like mustard...it helps
the rub stick to the meat, and it's fun to do, too.

Generously sprinkle
rub onto both sides of the ribs (Photos 5-6). Reserve a little
bit of rub for use later in the cooking process.

Using the Weber chimney starter as a measuring cup, measure a full chimney of
Kingsford Charcoal Briquets and set them aside in a large bowl or container (Photo 7).

Measure another 1/2 chimney
full of briquettes and light them:

Loosely roll a
double-wide sheet of newspaper on the diagonal from the upper left
corner to the lower right corner. Bring the ends together to form a
circle that fits inside the bottom of the chimney (Photo 8). Repeat
with a second sheet of newspaper.

Put the rolled
newspaper in
the bottom of the chimney (Photo 9).

Place the
chimney on the charcoal grate and fill 1/2 full with
briquettes (Photo 10). Light the newspaper in several locations with a long
match or a butane lighter. Two sheets of newspaper is usually
sufficient to get things started under normal conditions. If not, repeat the process with additional sheets of newspaper.

It will take 15-20 minutes for the coals to light. You'll know
they're ready
when flames are licking at the briquettes at the top of the
chimney and they're just starting to turn gray (Photo 11).

Pour the unlit
briquettes onto the charcoal grate (Photo 12).

Pour the hot coals
over the unlit
briquettes and spread them out evenly (Photo 13).

Immediately place the smoke wood chunks on
top of the hot coals (Photo 14).

Now assemble
the cooker:

Put the
water pan in the middle cooking section.

Insert the
middle cooking section into the charcoal bowl.

Carefully
fill the water pan from above with cool tap water.

Put the
top cooking grate in place.

There is no need to
check the water level or add water to the pan during the cooking
process. The water you add at the beginning will be enough.

Arrange the ribs
meat-side up on the grate. Put the shortest slab in the middle and
the longer ones on either side. You may need to curve the ribs, as
shown in Photo 15. Squeeze them in as best you can and put the lid
in place.

Set the lid vent
100% open. Set the three bottom vents 33% open and leave them that way
throughout the entire cooking process.

You'll see a lot of
smoke coming out of the lid vent and maybe from around the lid and
access door. This is completely normal and will eventually subside.

Cook the ribs
for 3 hours. No peeking allowed!

When you hit the 3
hour mark, remove the lid and check the ribs for tenderness.

The best way
to tell whether your ribs are cooked to perfection is to use the "tear
test". Take hold of two adjacent bones toward the middle of the slab
and give them a pull. If the meat offers a bit of resistance but then tears easily, you
know the ribs are done just right. Other indicators
of doneness, such as how far the meat has pulled
down the bone or whether a toothpick passes easily through the meat, are
not as reliable as the tear test.

The
ribs are probably not fully tender at the 3 hour mark. Quickly spray
the meat-side of the ribs with apple juice using a spray bottle, sprinkle lightly with some of the remaining rub, and replace the lid.

Continue to cook
the ribs and check for tenderness every 30 minutes. They will
probably be finished after 4 to 4-1/2 hours.

When the ribs pass
the tear test, brush them with the sauce mixture and leave them in
the cooker for another 10-15 minutes before removing.

It's possible that
some slabs may achieve tender perfection before others. If so,
remove them from the cooker and wrap tightly in wide, heavy-duty
aluminum foil while waiting for the others to finish cooking.

Sauce Again And
Enjoy!

Photo
17

Photo
18

Once all the ribs are
out of the cooker, brush on some more sauce and serve as full slabs,
half slabs, or individual bones. Make sure you have plenty of
napkins on hand!

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